A Changed Man
by tophness
Summary: Lu Ten is disapointed with his father. He aborted the siege at Ba Sing Se and left a note to Iroh. Iroh doesn't react well to the note. How can he get his son to ever feel the same about him again? Drabble, sort of an AU. R&R s'il vous plait.


**A/N: Hello once more. It is me, tophness. I'm posting stories like everyday because these are all stories I've written before I got an account here. I posted them on ASN (that's avatarspirit(dot)net) and as I said on my profile, if you're an Avatar fan of any degree, you should join their community. Seriously, they're awesome people. Anyway, here is another story for an ASN drabble contest, theme being Redemption. It was really hard thinking of a redemption story that doesn't revolve around Zuko, Azula, or Ozai, but in the end I did, and I was really proud of it. But I need to know what you guys think of it. So what you need to do is read these letters that form words on the screen. Read all of them. Then after that press that little button that says review. It will save your life, I guarantee it. Just please review and tell me what you think. ****Enjoy! Oh and ps, Lu Ten doesn't die in the war in this fic.**

**A Changed Man**

**OoOoOoO**

Dishonorable. Disgraceful. Despicable. Three words of thousands he would use to describe the war. He didn't know why he was so passionate about it in the beginning. Perhaps it was because his father was the Crowned Prince. It was in his family, his blood.

His father. He had become a monster, a dictator, his one and only goal to destroy Ba Sing Se. Lu Ten was disgusted. His father had once been his hero. Now he just saw Iroh like the rest of them. Dishonorable, disgraceful, despicable.

He had to get out of this. He must tell them something, anything. He could not, _would_ not, partake in this war anymore. All the destruction, all the violence, all the death. All the hatred corrupting the once pure souls. His father's soul. Lu Ten had to get out of this.

It had been the 590th day of the siege of Ba Sing Se when private Lu Ten resigned from the force, claiming that he needed to go back home to the Fire Nation to take care of his young wife and their new born child. General Iroh was heartbroken. He understood why his son had to go, though he concluded that it must have slipped his memory that his daughter-in-law was ever pregnant. Nonetheless, he was still sad that his only son would not be there to witness the fall of Ba Sing Se. He was counting on this moment to go down in history. Father and son, taking over the stronghold of the Earth Kingdom. He would have to make history alone.

Iroh turned in his bed. His plan to break through the outer wall would commence the following day. He was only slightly nervous for its failure. The Fire Nation had been working on perfecting the first ever airship for over a year. The airship will sail over the giant wall and from it will fall hundreds of specially designed bombs. The bombs will destroy the great wall, allowing the rest of the troops to storm the city and take over.

General Iroh was sure of his plan. There was no way that even the elite earthbenders of the Earth Kingdom army would be able to stop an enormous airship. However, he felt a premonition in the back of his head. That thought was pushed away when he heard a rustling outside his bed with his unnaturally acute hearing. Iroh jumped up immediately and crouched into a firebending stance. The opening of his tent fluttered as if someone was on the other side.

"Who is it?" Iroh hissed. He prepared to strike when the opening was pushed to the side as one of his attendants appeared.

"It's me sir." Iroh relaxed. "I have a letter for you."

The attendant handed Iroh a scroll. "Thank you," Iroh said smiling as he took the letter.

"Of course, sir." The young man bowed out of the tent.

Iroh sat down on his bed and opened the scroll. He gasped happily when he saw that it was from his son Lu Ten, though his smile slowly faded as his eyes traveled farther down the paper. When he finished, Iroh tried desperately to gulp back his tears, but once one tear trickled down his face, the rest quickly followed. He reread the letter from Lu Ten:

_To my Father,_

_It pains me to do this Father, but I must tell you the real reason why I abandoned the siege. I did not have a newborn child waiting for me at home, nor was Qin ever even pregnant. I left you because I am disgusted with what this has become. I have opened my eyes to the pain from this war. I plan to redeem that. And I have also opened my eyes to you, Father. If you could see yourself, you would be disappointed. This is not what you taught me as a child. You told me that an honorable soldier fights for what is right. This is not right. You let yourself get caught up in the want for power, and in return, families are being torn apart, homes are being destroyed, and people are being killed. This war is dishonorable, disgraceful, and despicable. I can only hope that you realize this one day._

_Your son,_

_Lu Ten_

Iroh continued to cry. He remembered the burning homes of the small Earth Kingdom villages. He remembered the fallen, broken bodies of the Earth Kingdom army at the base of the wall. He remembered the tear-stained face of an eight-year-old boy with shaggy brown hair as he watched his parents burn in the inferno that had once been his home.

Iroh continued to cry. Not only was he crying at the fact that his own son thought him a monster, he was crying because of the immense amount of pain, destruction, and death this fight for tyranny had brought on. His eyes had been opened. He needed to stop this fighting, this siege, this war. Iroh knew he would have to sabotage his own invasion plan to stop this siege. But he also knew it was completely worth it to stop the madness.

The old man wiped away his tears as he stashed the letter away in his robes. He got up from his bed and sat down at his low desk, preparing to devise a plan. A new plan.

It was the 600th day of the siege of Ba Sing Se when General Iroh commanded his troops to finally retreat. The invasion plan had failed. It seemed that the Earth Kingdom army had been prepared to fight the first ever airship. As if they had been warned.

The soldiers did not complain. They were slightly disappointed that they were not able to invade the great city, but more relived that would get to go home. They were tired and had seen too many friends fall to want to continue much more.

General Iroh feigned his disappointment. He was secretly glad that the plan had failed, and even more glad that no one had had gotten hurt, save for a few scratches from the crash landing of the airship.

However, he did not feign his extreme fatigue. Iroh felt more than tired. All he wanted to do now was sit down and drink some tea. He found that he craved tea more than normal. He had no idea why.

Iroh turned in his bed. The rest of the soldiers had all packed up and were getting in a good night's sleep before they leave back home to the Fire Nation early the next morning. Iroh was tired, but he couldn't sleep. He kept thinking about his son. _Will he believe me?_ Iroh thought. _Will he believe me when I say that I am a changed man?_ Iroh could only hope.

All thoughts about his son were quickly pushed away when he heard a rustling outside his tent with his unnaturally acute hearing. Iroh stayed in his bed, but turned towards the opening of his tent as if fluttered as if someone were on the other side.

"Who is it?" he mumbled, but loud enough for the person on the other side to hear. The opening was pushed to the side as his attendant appeared.

"It's me again, sir. You wanted to see me?"

"Yes." Iroh sat up slowly. "Thank you for coming. I want you to take this letter back to the Fire Nation. To my son." He pulled a scroll out of his robes and gave it to the young man.

"But, sir, we're leaving for the Fire Nation tomorrow. Can't you just give it to your son once we get back?" The attendant flinched, preparing himself for the yelling he was about to receive for questioning the great general. But Iroh did not yell. He didn't even raise his voice when he spoke his next words.

"No, no," he sighed. "I want this to get to the Fire Nation before I do. Please have someone go ahead on the fastest mongoose dragon with this letter. It's very important. Please."

The attendant stared at General Iroh, stunned at his sluggish manner. Perhaps he really meant it when he called off the siege because _everybody_ was tired. But the young man quickly reassembled himself and bowed to the older man. "Yes, sir."

"Thank you." Iroh smiled.

"Of course, sir," he said as he bowed once more and exited the tent.

Iroh sighed and smiled again. He lied back down and closed his eyes. Perhaps now he would get some sleep. He will have some tea in the morning.

Lu Ten cried. But he was smiling. In his hands he held a letter from his father. He could not have been more proud.

"Qin, please come here."

His young elegant wife walked in from the other room. "What is it Lu Ten?"

He held the letter out in front of him. "My father. He sent me a letter." His golden eyes shimmered. "He's changed."

Qin's face lit up. She knew all about how Lu Ten felt about the war. And how he felt about his father. "He has?" She walked over and grabbed her young husband's hand.

"Yes. Here, read it." He handed the letter to the young woman.

_To my dearest son,_

_My Lu Ten, I want to start out with an apology. I am dearly sorry with what I had become. I didn't see it, but I had changed. I had changed into a monster. My sole intent was to destroy Ba Sing Se, take control of the Earth Kingdom, and win the war. And I lost myself in doing so._

_Then I got your letter. It opened my eyes. I wish nothing more than to turn back time, to undo all the damage I have done. I want so much to bring back the people who have died, repair the homes that have been destroyed, and reunite the families that have been separated. All I can do now is prevent these things from happening in the future._

_I started by ending the siege. I knew everyone would question me if I ended it right before the invasion. So I sabotaged it. I sent and anonymous letter to General Sung of the Earth Kingdom army and signed it "An Ally." I informed him of the incoming airship of the Fire Nation. I told him that to defeat it before it can do any damage, he must tell his earthbenders to shoot giant boulders at the engines that were at the sides of the rear. That brought it down immediately. It crashed far from the wall and thankfully nobody got hurt, on either side. It was then that I called off the siege. I plan to do much more after this. I will retire from general and when I become the Fire Lord, I will finally end this war. No one will get hurt anymore._

_I love you Lu Ten, and I thank you for opening my eyes. You were right; I was not being an honorable soldier. I was not fighting for what was right. I am so proud of the man you have become and I can only hope that you believe men when I say that I am a changed man._

_Your father,_

_Iroh_

Qin smiled up at her husband, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. Lu Ten hugged her close as another tear slid down his face. "Yes. A changed man."

**END**


End file.
